Yes, women love Star Wars too

Guess what? Women are science fiction fans!

Shocker, right? By now, most of you know about Katie, the girl who was made fun of for liking Star Wars. In her honor, fans everywhere are encouraged to wear a Star Wars shirt on Dec. 10 in support. 

When most people think of science fiction fans, the typical fan boy imagine appears in their head. According to an article by CNN, women make up about half of the science fiction audience. The growing popular of the retail website Her Universe backs this up. Her Universe sells Star Wars gear for women. During the beginning of December, Her Universe sold out of some items and sizes. The success of this site should show that women are a dominant force in this market. 

Girls shouldn’t feel like they have to hide their love for science fiction. A girl should be able to walk into the toy department at any store, pick up an action figure and buy it without ridicule. Women should be able to walk into a comic book store and pick up the latest issue of Spiderman or other comic book. 

Some men seem amazed if they find a woman who enjoys science fiction. A Star Wars themed MMORPG game, “The Old Republic,” has drawn in thousands of Star Wars fans. On one particular fan site my husband and I visit, several of the male members are shocked that I’m a Star Wars fan. The internet is littered with stories like this.

I’m wearing my Han Solo shirt today. What are you wearing?

Sexism is killing our politicians

In a perfect world, a person’s gender would have nothing to do with politics.

During this election season, we’ve heard about several instances of female candidates being degraded or insulted in the public forum. These insults are, unfortunately, the norm. The problem arises when media members and other politicians make gender-bashing cracks.

Rush Limbaugh said, “I’d rather look at [Christine O’Donnell. l] than Mike Castle. I think she’s kind of cute.”

Other insults include she-goat, mean girl, and tight little butt. Period, PMS and menopause jokes are common place.

These types of remarks sway public opinion, according to an article by USA Today. The public listen to the various media outlets to help decide whom to vote. Calling female candidates names lowers their opinion in the public’s eye.

Male candidates are insulted, too, but it’s seen differently. Former President Bill Clinton is adored by thousands because of a sex scandal, not his politics.

Abigail Adams said, “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice, or representation.”

We women cannot have a voice if we lack representation. We cannot have a voice if our female leaders are seen as a joke.

Poor Elmo

Stop the presses. Katy Perry showed cleavage on Sesame Street.

Months ago, Katy Perry filmed a short with Elmo to her song “Hot and Cold.” She modified the lyrics to be kid-friendly. Parents freaked out at seeing the clip on YouTube, stating her dress was too low cut and breasts bounced too much.

Seriously?

The dress was not that low-cut. It looks like what you would see walking into a random store. In addition, what small child watches Sesame Street and looks at the guest’s chest? He is watching Elmo. Odd are that most children don’t even know who Katy Perry is.

In addition, why would anyone listen to people on YouTube? Hundreds of thousands of comments on YouTube are written specifically to bash. People find errors or something to be offended by in everything.

Let’s face it, if the makers of Sesame Street thought her dress was that bad, they could have given her something else to wear.

Another Weak Little Owl

"Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," was released today. Like almost every children's movie, the hero is a young boy, Soren. His sidekick is a girl, Gylfie. She's a smaller owl who shows signs of weakness from the beginning. Soren protects Gylfie. She states she's a good navigator, but this isn't explored much. When they learn to fly, she's the one that has the most problems. She's the one who tires first. Her character is shown as weaker.

This strong male, weak female dynamic has been done in hundreds of films. It needs to stop being the predominant set-up. Mix it up.

For once, can we have a kids' movie with a strong female character? Even if the female is the sidekick, which is fine, can't she be strong and capable? By constantly showing children this type of dominant dynamic, we only further the gender gap.

As children, many of us looked up to particular characters. There are not nearly enough fictional female characters for girls to look up to. Growing up, I thought Princess Leia from "Star Wars" was the best. She took control of her rescue, never backed down and was just as, if not more capable, than the others. A more recent example is Hermione Granger of the Harry Potter franchise. Not only is she smart, but she is equal to Harry and Ron. These are the type of role models girls need.

We need more Princess Leias and Hermiones.

Plastic surgery and weddings?

E! has found yet another show to pollute our airwaves with: “Bridalplasty.”

Brides complete various tasks to win plastic surgery procedures. After she wins a task, she goes into surgery. Contestants are eliminated through the show by voting. The winner makes her appearance at her wedding with her brand new body, or the “perfect bride.”

According to E, “"Viewers will witness his emotional and possibly shocked reaction as they stand at the altar and he lifts her veil to see her for the first time following her extreme plastic surgery.”

This show is just disgusting. The wedding is just a show, not a ceremony to commemorate the love and commitment of two people. In addition, the entire “perfect bride” concept is harmful. It mocks the entire concept of loving someone for who they are.

Congratulations, E!, on making marriage a joke.

Happy 90th, 19th Amendment

This month marks the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. This amendment allowed women to vote. Finally, women were able to voice their opinions. Before, women were forced to just deal with the government rulings. Women had no voice. Women were expected to follow laws they had no say in.

Thank the women of the past for securing us this right.

Sex and Candy bars

I remember sex ed in middle school. The instructor used a Snickers bar to demonstrate casual sex. She had one person take a bite of one end and another bit the other end. She then told someone else to take a bite. He chose the middle, which defeated the purpose of the exercise. Supposedly, this was supposed to teach us that when you have sex with one person, you’ve had sex with everyone they slept with.

The instructor proceeded to tell us to follow abstinence. Abstinence is a great lesson, but it’s impossible to stop teenagers from having sex. While abstinence should be talked about, birth control options must be explained.

Most teens know what a condom is from locker room talk and television. Other birth control methods are, more often than not, a mystery. I learned about sponges, pills, IUDs and spermacide through independent research. Schools can teach facts about birth control methods without delving into whether teens should have sex or not.

By withholding birth control facts from teens, they are left uninformed. We live in a sex-fueled society. Instead of putting our teens at risk for pregnancy and STDS, we should inform them of their options. If more teens used birth control, there would be less teen pregnancies.